Given my interest in most things Western, and also my
interest in the early days of the movie-making business, how in the world did I
not know this movie even existed until recently? No matter, because now I’ve
seen AND STARRING PANCHO VILLA AS HIMSELF and really enjoyed it.
Made for HBO in 2003, this is a fictionalization of historical incidents in which a producer and cameramen from the Mutual Film Company went to Mexico during the revolution and traveled with Pancho Villa’s army in order to get footage of actual battles and then make a movie about Villa’s life. The producer, Frank Thayer (played by an actor I’m not familiar with, Eion Bailey) is the protagonist, and the movie is kind of a coming-of-age story as well as a portrait of the developing friendship between the young man from New Jersey and the flamboyant, charismatic revolutionary. Plenty of historical figures show up in the story, from director Christy Cabanne to Raoul Walsh, the actor who plays the young Villa, to journalist John Reed and muckraking newspaperman William Randolph Hearst. Mixed in with them are fictional characters such as the Jewish mercenary machine-gunner who’s part of Villa’s army, played by Alan Arkin.
This is a really handsome production with a good cast, epic sweep, and lots of well-done action, but it’s dominated by the scenery-chewing of Antonio Banderas as Pancho Villa. I say that in a good way, because an over-the-top historical character such as Villa deserves an over-the-top portrayal. Like most good historical dramas, AND STARRING PANCHO VILLA AS HIMSELF leaves you thinking, well, maybe not everything in there happened exactly the way they show it—but it should have. I liked this one a lot and am glad I came across it.
Made for HBO in 2003, this is a fictionalization of historical incidents in which a producer and cameramen from the Mutual Film Company went to Mexico during the revolution and traveled with Pancho Villa’s army in order to get footage of actual battles and then make a movie about Villa’s life. The producer, Frank Thayer (played by an actor I’m not familiar with, Eion Bailey) is the protagonist, and the movie is kind of a coming-of-age story as well as a portrait of the developing friendship between the young man from New Jersey and the flamboyant, charismatic revolutionary. Plenty of historical figures show up in the story, from director Christy Cabanne to Raoul Walsh, the actor who plays the young Villa, to journalist John Reed and muckraking newspaperman William Randolph Hearst. Mixed in with them are fictional characters such as the Jewish mercenary machine-gunner who’s part of Villa’s army, played by Alan Arkin.
This is a really handsome production with a good cast, epic sweep, and lots of well-done action, but it’s dominated by the scenery-chewing of Antonio Banderas as Pancho Villa. I say that in a good way, because an over-the-top historical character such as Villa deserves an over-the-top portrayal. Like most good historical dramas, AND STARRING PANCHO VILLA AS HIMSELF leaves you thinking, well, maybe not everything in there happened exactly the way they show it—but it should have. I liked this one a lot and am glad I came across it.
1 comment:
I hadn't heard of this one, either. I'll have to check it out.
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